Page 48 of Bewitching her Highland Savior

CHAPTERTWENTY-ONE

Liam's plans had been far too optimistic. Muriel had told him several times that her father was not the type of man who would listen to anyone, not even her, but he had dismissed her concerns and taken her straight to him, only for the laird to imprison him and separate them.

But what else could I have done? Anythin’ else would have put me family in danger.

Laird McNeil would have gone after the McAlpine clan if he had taken Muriel far away. If he had let her stay in Lewis, it was certain that she would suffer. Bringing her to Barra had truly been his only option.

He only wished that it had been a good one. As it was, he couldn’t help but think that he had failed Muriel.

It had been five days since he had last seen her or heard anything about her and he had been plagued by worry the entire time. Every waking moment of his life was spent wondering what she was up to, if she was still alive or if her father had sent her back to Lewis. But if he had sent her to Lewis, Liam believed he would have been allowed to return home. The fact that he was still in Barra implied that Muriel was there as well.

No matter how many times he asked the guards to confirm that she was well, none of them spoke more than two words to him. He had no news of her, no way of finding out if she was alright and no way of escaping. He checked several times but couldn't find a way out no matter how hard he tried. Laird McNeil had even posted three guards under his window, despite the fact that he was keeping Liam in one of the keep's highest turrets. He wasn't going to take any chances had Liam thought about climbing down.

The laird was wise to do so. Liam would have tried, even if it meant falling and injuring himself or even dying in the process. Not only would he do anything to help Muriel, but he didn't like being locked up in a tower, even if it had rich tapestries on the walls and a bed as comfortable as his own at home.

When the door opened, Liam expected to see one of the guards but it was Muriel who stood there; her eyes red and glinting with tears. He rushed to her, pulling her into an embrace and she all but collapsed against him, letting out a shuddering breath.

“Mo ghràdh, why are ye cryin’?” he asked. He tried to close the door, but the guard who stood outside stopped him and as much as Liam wanted to argue, he was more worried about Muriel than about being watched. “Come,” he told Muriel; pulling her further into the room where the guard could still hear them but at least could not see them, obscured as they were by a wall.

Liam sat her down and perched himself on the mattress next to her, holding one of her hands tightly. He wiped away her tears with his knuckles and waited for her to calm down before he spoke once more.

"Muriel... what is it?" he asked, trying to ignore the pounding in his chest. It wouldn't help if she saw how terrified he was that something had happened. He had to keep his calm for her sake, so he did, forcing his breath to be steady and his hands to stop shaking.

“Me maither… me faither sent some men to bring her to the keep,” she said but before she could finish, a sob ripped through her; drowning out her words.. The worst possible notion was the first thing that popped into his mind — that Muriel’s mother was dead, that something had happened to her or that her father had done something to her. He pulled Muriel close silently; wrapping his arms around her and letting her cry on his shoulder for a few moments until she was ready to speak again.

“He said he’ll kill her, Liam,” Muriel choked out. “He said that if I dinnae go to Lewis, he’ll kill her.”

Liam didn’t know what to say to comfort Muriel. He could say nothing to make it better, not something like that. All he could do was try to come up with a solution, a plan that could get all three of them out of that keep.

“Muriel, I’ll… I’ll figure out a way,” he said; pulling back to cup her face in his hands and look into her eyes. “I promise ye, I’ll find a way to save her. I willnae let yer faither touch her.”

“Ye cannae,” Muriel said, shaking her head. Her voice was so full of pain that Liam could feel it – a stab in his chest that hurt more than any physical wound. “He has her noo. There is nae a thing ye can do to help her. Nae one of me faither’s prisoners has ever escaped, nae matter how clever or strong. Once he has his talons in them, they can never leave unless he allows them to.”

“We mustn’t lose hope,” Liam said. “There must be a way, there must be somethin’, anythin’ that we can—”

“Have ye found a way out of here?” Muriel asked but it didn’t seem like she was waiting for an answer. She already knew that the answer was no. “I’m tellin’ ye, me faither has though of everythin’. There’s only one thing I can do to save me maither and that is to go to Lewis. So, that’s what I will do.”

“I cannae let ye do that,” Liam said. He would do anything to spare Muriel from that fate, even if it would be the last thing he would ever do. “Muriel, Macleod is a cruel man. If ye marry him, ye’ll be in danger. This isnae about yer happiness; it’s about yer life.”

“I ken that,” Muriel said; furiously wiping the tears off her face and composing herself once more. “All I can promise ye is that I’ll do me best to stay alive. I’ll try to stay out of his way and with any luck, I’ll survive just fine.”

Muriel’s shaky voice betrayed that she didn’t believe her own words, nor did Liam. He knew her well. He knew she couldn't stand for injustice, and if she saw Macleod mistreating the servant girls, she'd try to help them while dooming herself in the process. Or maybe she'd say something to Macleod that he wouldn't like. In any case, Muriel was not the type of woman who would remain silent and, in Lewis, that would be a death sentence.

“Ye’ll be in more danger than ye realize,” Liam said. “Ye didnae see the poor lassie. Ye didnae see how much he had hurt her. If ye kent…”

“I ken that ye worry,” Muriel said and it was her turn to wrap her hand around his, comforting him. “Of course ye do. I worry, too. But just like ye wish to keep yer family safe, I wish to keep mine. It’s the only way I can save me maither and I’ll do whatever it takes to do so.”

“Ye’re me family, too,” Liam said without missing a beat. She was his family just as much as Amelia and Ron were. “How can ye ask me to let ye do somethin’ like that? I cannae bear to be apart from ye, Muriel, but if I must then I need to ken that ye’re safe, at least.”

Muriel took a deep breath and then met Liam's gaze. Liam was taken aback by how cold she seemed, as if something had snapped inside of her. It wasn't the kind of look he expected to see in her eyes after everything they'd been through.

“It’s me own decision,” she said; her tone just as cold and distant as her gaze. “And there is nothin’ ye can do about it. I have already made up me mind. I’ve told me faither that I will go to Lewis and marry Macleod and so it’ll be. He’ll let me maither go and he’ll let ye go, too. Ye can return to yer home, Liam. I dinnae wish for ye to look for me, I dinnae wish for ye to come after me. I have already made me choice. I choose Macleod.”

Liam stared at Muriel, his eyes wide and his mouth open in disbelief. He racked his brain for something to say, but he couldn't come up with anything that would persuade Muriel to change her mind. Her abrupt change had taken him by surprise, so much so that he couldn't think straight for a few moments. He couldn't help but wonder how she could say those last three words to him without a trace of regret.

“I… I dinnae ken what to say,” he admitted in the end. “If ye willnae put yer faith in me—”

“What can ye do?” Muriel asked. “Nothin’. At least by marrying Macleod, I can fix some of this. We always kent that things may go wrong between us. We always kent there was a big chance we’d have to say goodbye.”